How Does Soap Dissolve Grease?

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Rachel Yatuzis, and I'm going to explain to you how soap dissolves grease. Everything's made up of molecules, and really, soap separated them. The oil and the grease would be the non-polar molecules, and water would be the polar molecules. Soap separates them. So what you want to do if you have a greasy bowl with any kind of grease or oil in it, put your favorite dish soap in it, or if you're cleaning another surface use an all-purpose cleaner or something like that. Any soapy or bubbly substance will work. Add water. Work it around with a sponge. And the soap will separate the molecules, it will pull the grease and the oil from whatever you're trying to clean. It disperses it in the water, and the actual grease and oil molecules that are in the water are surrounded by soap. It's like the soap traps them. Rinse the object or whatever you're removing the grease from, just rinse it clean. I am Rachel Yatuzis, and that is how soap dissolves grease and oil."